RIYADH: Around 500 Saudis participated at the Global Game Jam held last month across the Kingdom in seven cities — Riyadh, Jazan, Abha, Hail, Madinah, Jeddah and Al-Ahsa — to compete in creating digital games.  
The 10-day event was concurrently held at 860 locations in 113 countries, where participating teams developed a whopping 9,010 electronic games worldwide.  During the first few days, the event focused on conducting specialized lectures and workshops, including on how to make electronic games, 3D design and tips for faster programming.
Participants were then given 48 hours to develop an entire game, which included forming teams, selecting an idea, designing and developing the game, testing it and uploading it to Global Game Jam’s platform.

Under the theme of “duality,” participants rapidly prototyped game designs, introducing new ideas to help inspire and grow the global game industry.
Faten Al-Ghamdi, supervisor of the Talent and Innovation Club at the Digital Technical College for Girls in Al-Ahsa, said: “Participants developed and created games within 48 hours after being divided into teams with each team including programmers, illustrators, musicians and other members needed to create a game.”

There was enthusiasm and engagement from the participants, as well as a desire to learn more about digital games.

Faten Al-Ghamdi, Supervisor of the Talent and Innovation Club

She added: “There was enthusiasm and engagement from the participants, as well as a desire to learn more about digital games.”
According to the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the global electronic games market has grown rapidly in recent years, including in Saudi Arabia, which has seen remarkable development and growth in the field and which aims to localize the industry.
As part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia aims to consolidate its position as a regional technical hub for entrepreneurs, innovators and programmers to improve the digital capabilities of Saudi youth and to encourage creativity.